In the recent past, paperback textbooks have made way for eBooks, particularly in educational institutions. With the rise of online learning and hence acclimatization to the way of digital learning, Parents too are adapting to digital books/digital play books.

Keeping students interested in plain text becomes a daunting task who start using eBooks at a relatively young age. Educators and Publishers need to find interesting ways to keep the school eBooks engaging and contextually relevant at the same time.

Designing an eBook for academic purposes, especially for educational institutions is a tricky task.

Now, let’s look at how publishers create eBooks (educational content) for students:

a) Focus on the layout:

The prospective eBook should not only be relevant and informational but also entertaining and provide fun to the learners so that it is appealing. Apart from text, eBook will have diagrams, charts, images etc, based on the subject.

Once the content is finalized, publishers must decide on the layout. If the content is text-heavy then it has to be a reflowable layout for readers convenience. If the content has lots of images, then a fixed layout must be in place so that pictures are retained without distortion.

b) Inculcate clutter-free formatting style:

Designing the pages of the eBook that is both easy to read and navigate will make the learning interesting and hence readers will find it interactive.

The colors, the borders, the alignment etc, are to be placed in a manner that doesn’t hinder the reading experience.

c) Append contextual videos for more engagement:

When remembering and recalling the information, videos play an important role than just the text.Video-based learning in the form of online lessons and courses are in uprise due to the same reason.

Hence, video-based training is gaining traction and it’s a good idea to incorporate videos (a demo-video, an animated video or an instructional-video) into eBooks.

d) Add simulations for encouraging Visual Learning experiences:

Simulation (models) allow students to test a theory in a virtual environment which paves the way for increasing critical thinking, logical reasoning and problem-solving skills of students.

Using simulation-based learning wherever applicable in the eBooks, assists teachers to develop the above mentioned skills in students aiding them in overall development.

e) Add interactivity for making learning both engaging and fun:

Features like text highlighting, sticky notes, read aloud, page curl, bookmarks, pen tool, search tool etc, for students to make notes and references while studying make the learning content more interesting and interactive.

Further incorporation of features such as drag and drop, click and reveal, labelling etc, will allow students to interact with the content and thus stay focussed and engaged, enhancing the learning process.

An eBook is incomplete without interactive elements incorporated in its native digital format.

f) Add Assessments for better performance check:

Assessments help teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning programs and hence adding assessments is a must when designing eBooks for students. MCQs, fillintheblanks, short answer questions, etc, are a few techniques that could be used.

g) Include Analytics for review/improvements:

A detailed report of the students engagement level with the course material can be learnt via the Analytics reports. Further information on the number of students who read a particular chapter, the total time spent on each chapter which can be used to determine the learning patterns of each student can be established for better learning outcomes.

Teachers can update or redesign courses based on the outcomes.

Conclusion:

Creating an eBook is not a difficult task when taken up with the right tools. Educational eBooks need to be done in the right way to provide remarkable learning inputs while simultaneously holding the attention of the learners.

Enriching the eBooks with interactive elements by using the above mentioned aspects to create a book that is informative, interactive and engaging that suits the new-age tech generation is the emerging trend.

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